Volkswagen began in 1937 with the humble Beetle, which went on to become the best-selling car of all time. Since then, Volkswagen has grown into Europe’s largest automotive group, with a diverse range of products and brands-from the mass-market Skoda and \ SEAT to luxury...
Originating in the Italian city of Milan a century ago, the Alfa Romeo marque conjures up images of sophisticated road cars and legendary competition success. In the 1930s Alfa Romeo’s racers were the finest in the world and provided the foundation for a wealth of...
Until its demise in 1988, Austin was a mainstay of the British automotive industry. Austin introduced millions of ordinary people to the joys of driving with models such as the Seven, A30, Mini, and Metro. Other highlights of the marque’s history included Austin-Healey sports cars...
World-renowned for prestige and driving excitement-and as the maker of James Bond’s favorite cars-Aston Martin is a prime example of a small British marque: building sports cars against the commercial odds, yet surviving decade after decade thanks to the support of devoted owners and dogged...
When Walter P. Chrysler decided to compete with the giants of Ford and General Motors (GM), he set a course that would see his firm become one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. Embracing such marques as Dodge, Plymouth, and DeSoto, the Chrysler brand has...
Henry Ford was the first automobile manufacturer to make the most of mass-production techniques, and his Model T sold by the million. Since then, the Ford Motor Company has grown into a global giant, the only big U.S. car maker to survive the recession of...
Andre Citroën was one of the automotive industry’s earliest visionaries. Despite humble beginnings, his Citroën marque came to embody all that was original and daring about car design. Citroen produced an array of landmark automobiles that were uniquely French, appealing to the heart as well...
From building motorcycle sidecars in a tiny workshop in a seaside town in northwest England, William Lyons’s company evolved into a manufacturer of high-quality sports cars and sedans. Over the decades, the Jaguar marque established a reputation for fast, refined cars, which it continues to...
BMW began as a maker of aircraft engines, later diversifying into motorcycles and then cars. From near-certain bankruptcy in the 1950s, BMW bounced back in the 1960s with the landmark Neue Klasse models. It has since grown into one of the most respected European marques...
Cars like the Corvette, Camaro, and Blazer carry the name of one of the most charismatic racing drivers pre-World War I. Yet Louis Chevrolet had precious little to do with the products that have sold in the tens of mil lions—his heart was always at...